Matchmaking
by ness2
Summary: Ensemble fic. Lena is being picked on, and Jake tries to set her up with a nice, unattached boyfriend. Like Will. Who has not been consulted.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Matchmaking  
Author: ness  
Disclaimer: I don't own them.  
Category: other  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Thanks: in chronological order, to ELISHEVA for reading this pre-beta, and to EV for beta-ing. Errors mine. 

* * *

The halls at Rawley were quieter than usual this Saturday lunchtime. Most of the students were probably outside, making the most of the indian summer.  
  
Jake strolled down the hall with a book in her hand, then saw Bella lurking in the corridor. Jake quietly crept up behind her and leaning over her shoulder, spoke in her left ear. "Hey. The thing about furtive is, it Draws Attention. If you stop whipping your head around one hundred and eighty degrees, you might achieve sneaky."  
  
"Jake!" Bella jumped, her hand over her mouth. "Townies aren't supposed to be here" she hissed.  
  
"That is so painfully obvious." Jake hugged Bella. "Let me guess .. looking for Scout?"  
  
Bella nodded, self conscious at being so obvious.  
  
"How did Wednesday go?" Jake wanted to hear all the details of Scout and Bella's first official date.  
  
Bella lit up, blushing. "Our first big date.."  
  
"I know. Scout lives here" Jake teased gently.  
  
"I wonder if he was as nervous as I was."  
  
"Scout? Nah, rock solid, Bell, really" Jake smiled as she thought about the three days before the date. Scout had been so stressed out that Hamilton, Jake and Will had purposely avoided him as much as they could. Will had gone and buried himself in the library the minute classes ended, in the hopes of not having to be consulted on possible topics of conversation again. Scout had then hauled Hamilton and Jake into his dorm to collaborate about his wardrobe. As he held countless hangers in front of them he would ask their opinion on which shirt made him look hottest. Their comments ranged from "That's nice, that'll do" to "That works for me, that looks great" and finally, "Just pick one!!"  
  
Jake ducked her head to hide a smile. She'd thought it was pretty sweet, the way Scout acted, but supposed he would want to maintain some suave quotient. It would be cruel to tell Bella all the sordid details. "Uh, Scout was pretty psyched."  
  
"Come with me. Almost everyone's in the quad. Or Hamilton might have seen him. I'm meeting Ham outside." They headed off.  
  
A minute later, Bella leaned against a tree and welcomed Hamilton with a grin as he jogged up to them. "No," she was telling Jake. "I'm not meeting Scout for a date today. We're taking Will down to Friendly's to cheer him up."  
  
"Will get dumped by Caroline yet?" Hamilton asked.  
  
"Yest- what? God. How'd you know?"  
  
"Have you any idea how much boys gossip?" Jake demanded. "It's a stereotype crushed, I can tell you. But, no. Ham and I kind of thought she would. Based on her personality."  
  
"Or lack of it" Hamilton drawled.  
  
Jake burst out laughing. "Hamilton has so few illusions about rich girls."  
  
Bella eyed her. "Which wouldn't include you."  
  
Jake's voice became cold. "I'm new money sweetie. Those chicks hate me too."  
  
Bella glanced at Hamilton, uncomfortable. She raised her eyebrows at him to say something. His response was "About the illusions; I grew up here remember?"  
  
"They are such bitches-"  
  
"Um, Jake-" Bella frowned at her.  
  
Jake smiled faintly. "I'm not getting into my own issues here. Look over toward the lake. Check out the body language."  
  
Bella realised Jake was reacting to a group of fashionably dressed girls a hundred yards away. "They're picking on the bottle redhead."  
  
"Nothing new there" Hamilton said. "They always treat Lena like she's dirt. Any time I see her she looks -" he broke off and glanced at Jake; Jake was looking guilty, and that was a shame, but he knew how Lena felt. He could teach graduate courses on how to mope round Rawley campus feeling isolated. Poppy and some of the other Rawley girls had been making a big deal out of Lena's lack of a boyfriend for weeks, just as an excuse to have somebody to pick on.  
  
"Uh, Bella, I think we should go and rescue Lena and bring her to Friendly's too" Jake said thoughtfully.  
  
"Oh, so now you're joining the Will suicide watch."  
  
"You know you'll thank us for it girl. If it's just you and Scout he'll wallow in self pity till you want to slap him, but his manly pride will kick in for Ham and me. He'll have to fake cheerfulness."  
  
"I don't want to put him under extra strain."  
  
"It'll be good for him. If you fake happiness awhile sometimes it turns into the real thing."  
  
"Jake's big on tough love" Hamilton sighed.  
  
Jake stared at him; he waggled his eyebrows and she giggled, looking around quickly to see if anyone heard. "I'm not supposed to giggle in public" she hissed.  
  
"Jake!" said Bella. "Was that a furtive look or a hundred and eighty degree head whip?" Bella got to giggle openly. So she did.  
  
"Funny" Jake replied. "Come with me while I rescue Lena and Ham can find Scout and Will. We'll all meet at Friendly's."  
  
"Right." Jake and Bella walked to the lake shore, watching Lena's fight with the other girls. "Hey Lena" Jake called. "Can you do me a huge favor?"  
  
"Collecting fag hags Jacob?" asked Poppy, one of the girls. Jake had had run-ins with her before.  
  
Jake stopped in her tracks. "Actually. No. I'm asking a friend out. Someone I want to talk to. Which would eliminate you you skanky bitch with your pathetic bunch of mini mes, because you haven't the vocabulary to hold a conversation or the personality to make your opinions interesting." Jake grabbed Lena's hand and the three of them got out of there before Poppy and her friends exploded.  
  
It was a minute or two before any of them spoke. "Okay. I lost my temper there."  
  
"You think?" said Lena. She sounded annoyed, not grateful.  
  
"Oh. Sorry. Poppy knows how to push my buttons. She's like, uh, a conglomeration of much hated chicks from my last six schools." Jake saw the totally unmollified look in Lena's eye and groaned.  
  
"Hi. I'm Bella." Bella rolled her eyes at Lena. "And you're Lena. And Jake is acting like a guy."  
  
"Well, yes" said Lena, confused. Lena was asking herself did this Bella person think all gays were effeminate? Of course Jake was acting like a guy, he was one.  
  
"Acting like a guy is a coded insult" Jake explained. "Bella despises aggression. But Poppy so deserved it. You tell her how much she deserved it."  
  
Lena turned to Bella. "She deserved it. But, she deserved it from me."  
  
Jake blushed. "Ouch." Then, very meekly: "I'm sorry."  
  
Oh, wow Lena, I'm impressed, thought Bella. She said "We came over to ask you to join us at Friendly's. The guys keep telling me how much school food blows."  
  
"I hacked into the school budget." Jake recovered. "You would not believe how little they allocate for lunch. The Dean should know better. In his own home, he has Hamilton, going through platefuls like-"  
  
"Hamilton's appetite for food is a freak of nature" said Bella. "We know this to be true."  
  
"Would you like to come?" Jake asked. "Will and Scout are friends; they're cool."  
  
"I'm dating Scout."  
  
"Way to smoothly work that into the conversation Bell." Turning to Lena, Jake added in a less teasing voice: "It's new."  
  
"- and Will, I was gonna say," Bella made a face at Jake "he's my best friend. We grew up next to each other. He's on scholarship."  
  
"Yes" said Jake thoughtfully. "He's really smart. Sensitive, writes poetry."  
  
"Sounds like a paragon. Good looking?"  
  
Jake gave Lena a long stare. "Totally. You'll like him."

* * *

Part 2  
  
Jake was still doing introductions while they headed for a table with their lunches "and you know Will from English. Sometimes he's, like, the only student Finn calls upon all through class." Jake noticed Hamilton had eaten most of her fries while she was talking about Will like she was campaigning for his presidency.  
  
"That's 'cause he's smarter than the rest of you" Bella protested, tearing her attention away from Scout for a second.  
  
"That, or Finn has impure thoughts about him." Sadly, Hamilton watched the fries start disappearing into Jake's mouth.  
  
"Ham, man, don't go there. You and Jake freak me out enough as it is." Scout hadn't thought he would ever get used to the weirdness of those two. Even now that he knew Jake was a girl in disguise, he was still making a big thing of it.  
  
"In the interest of not freaking Scout out, tell us about yourself Lena." At least, Will thought, his depression had one good effect. Despite Jake's teasing (and the extreme Will-boosting she was lavishing on him since she and Lena hooked up with him just now was beyond weird and profoundly unJake. Maybe it was a pity thing, postCaroline) - he didn't feel particularly shy with this unknown friend of Jake's. Jake's friend, definitely. Lena looked at and talked to Jake ahead of everyone else at the table. Hamilton was polite to Lena, but not enthusiastic. He also kept giving his girlfriend weird looks for gushing on about how great Will was.  
  
"Hey Jake -" a voice interrupted as Lena drew breath.  
  
"Marcus. What's up?"  
  
"I think my laptop's fried. Can you take a look at it?"  
  
Jake grinned. "Always with the technical language. Lemme see." She left the others, Hamilton trailing absentmindedly after her.  
  
"So." Scout turned to Lena as Jake and Hamilton left. "How'd you know Jake?"  
  
Lena decided on bravado. "I propositioned him when I started at Rawley."  
  
Will, Scout, and Bella choked visibly. "You hit on Jake?" Scout's mouth hung open.  
  
"Well." Lena was red in the face. "He's incredibly cute. I mean, that smile ..right?" she appealed to Bella.  
  
"I never .. really saw Jake that way. You know."  
  
"Because Bella saw rightaway Jake liked boys" Will cut in smoothly.  
  
"I guess I should have, too."  
  
"The Jake/Ham thing was under our noses for weeks and we were clueless" said Will, feeling very mature and tactful. After all, he thought charitably, he and Scout had been partially clueless, so it was kinda true. They'd worked out out the relationship without working out the gender. With the help of what Will thought of as the ever reliable grapevine, they'd deduced Jake and Ham as being an item pretty soon. He remembered them as being very aware very fast. But then again, they had to have the girl thing explained to them. It looked like Lena was still in the dark about that, he realised.  
  
"So - propositioning Jake." Scout leered. "Details?"  
  
"Scout" Bella snapped.  
  
Will punched him. "Ignore him Lena. He's a pig."  
  
"Jake was a perfect gentleman." Lena was still depressed about that.  
  
Scout let out a scream of laughter and the other two buried their faces in their hands for a minute. "Scout's laughing at Jake not you" said Bella in a choked voice.  
  
"Gentlemanly isn't how we see Jake. Annoying. Criminal record waiting to happen. For sure." Will looked satisfied he'd summed it up.  
  
"On the other hand, JAKE describes YOU as a friend." Lena snapped. God, Jake had only said good things about Will on the way into town. Rawley was so full of backbiters.  
  
Nicely pointed, thought Will. "If I wasn't a friend, I wouldn't know all this" he said calmly. "When Jake doesn't want to know guys he fends them off with this - his gaze drifted across the street thinking of the right words - "implacable neutral thing. They only get the mask. Now, Hamilton -" At this point, he shut up, seeing Jake.  
  
"As Finn would say, very insightful Krudsky." I want the focus off of me, Jake thought irritably.  
  
Will gave Jake a nervous stare. He hadn't seen her arrive.  
  
"What?" Hamilton came up with a fresh burger.  
  
Jake looked at Scout and he abruptly stopped laughing. "Scout has been making Lena feel uncomfortable. Which is rude."  
  
Hamilton dumped his food on the table wondering fleetingly how Scout had managed that. Lena had made Ham angry and miserable enough in her time but he'd never seen her lose her cool. Actually, to judge from her expression, she was upset now. And Jake was certainly annoyed. "You don't want to listen to the stuff coming out of Scout's mouth. He's just Captain Tactless." He glanced warily at Jake.  
  
"It's my fault. I just, I was trying to get through an uncomfortable memory on bravado, and it didn't work. Can we just leave it, please?"  
  
Jake stared at Lena unsmiling for a minute then nodded slightly and sat back in her seat. Hamilton dropped one hand on his girlfriend's leg and started tracing spirals on her thigh. "Isn't this kind of a weird place to relax for you guys?" he asked Will and Scout. "You do shifts here most evenings."  
  
"Name me the other Rawley nightspots" Bella demanded.  
  
"Good point."  
  
"I just enjoy watching other people work. Which reminds me - Bella, honey, stop obsessing about Grace across the road. You've got today off." Scout hugged her with one arm.  
  
Will tried not to be mean and petty. The couples weren't cuddling to get under his skin. They were just enjoying being together. The whole salt in wound thing was him projecting. It wasn't as if he found Bella or Jake attractive. Bella had beautiful hair, a beautiful smile. Her eyes looked directly and honestly at any person, any situation. But you put the package together and it was, well, Bella. His earliest memory was of them competing over who had the biggest knee scabs. Feminine mystique, not. And as for Jake .. he'd garrotte himself on dental floss sooner than date her. He considered her, with the baggage that came with her, far too high maintenence. He pitied Ham. He smiled at the last thought, catching Lena's eye. She looked as uncomfortable as he felt. He took a breath and started to talk to her.

* * *

Part3  
  
Lena really enjoyed the meal despite not being too crazy about greasy burgers. Thank god, Bella told her about Will and Scout working here before she got round to insulting the food. Bella seemed nice, a very warm personality with a nicely cynical take on Rawley. She was, Lena thought, brighter than her boyfriend, but Scout was very cute. He was flatteringly open about being smitten, too. Lena could see the attraction.  
  
With Bella and Scout being preoccupied with each other and Jake and Hamilton occasionally exchanging in-jokes which lost the rest of the table, Lena was left talking to Will. But she liked all of them, not least because it was clear that neither Bella, Scout nor Will had heard the rumors Poppy had started about how Lena was such an idiot she was still pining for Jake even though she hadn't a chance with him. Unrequited love, painful, thought Lena. Public unrequited love, humiliating. But to have the publicity long after getting over the crush, now that was infuriating.  
  
Most of the lunch crowd left to watch a townie basketball game but Jake and Lena were having an insanely technical film discussion. Lena was holding forth on "the golden age of Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart" and Jake was being non laconic about "the way the Coen brothers have used the Capra legacy."  
  
Will was mystified.  
  
"None of my friends will watch videos with me anymore" confessed Lena. "I yell FORESHADOWING at the screen and point. It isn't pretty."  
  
I can believe you, Hamilton thought grimly.  
  
"I grew up listening to Mom and her friends - every last one of whom is a show business contact - analysing the lighting, the performances, cinematography, pricing what the lead's wearing ..I'm now unable to watch and go, ooh, cute story."  
  
"Sadly, even when it's Steven Seagal." Hamilton said.  
  
Neither Bella nor Scout reacted. They were trapped at the back of the booth exchanging heartfelt God-get-me-out-of-here looks.  
  
Will said disbelievingly "You deconstruct movies?"  
  
"Of course," Lena said. "It's a family thing, like Jake said."  
  
"Wow. I thought that level of criticism was for books."  
  
"Hey. Scout deconstructs wrestling." Hamilton interrupted.  
  
"And congressional votes, Ham" said Bella, tired of the way Scout was always set up to be the comedy moron. She'd done it to him herself more often than she liked to remember.  
  
"What?" Lena was startled. "Votes? What?"  
  
"His dad-" Bella explained.  
  
"Works in Washington." Scout finished without missing a beat.  
  
Bella smiled. "Finishing each other's sentences, how scary is that?"  
  
"Not scary. I'm cool with it." Scout looked adoring. At some point in romancing Bella, he had totally ditched the playing it cool thing. Will would say it had been an early point. OK. There was lack of dignity, and there was making his girlfriend insecure. He'd made his choice.  
  
"Oh. And you, Will, do you deconstruct books to be more like your dad?" Lena was surprised when Will snorted.  
  
"No." He laughed bitterly. Noone picked up the conversational ball, and he added after a minute "Uh, I guess I kind of do it for myself."  
  
"A man who thinks for himself-" Lena shifted toward him. "So. What kind of books occupy your mind?"  
  
Hamilton muttered to Jake: "Is this some kind of come-on. 'Cause it's doing nothing for me."  
  
Jake responded at the same volume "Don't think it's aimed at either you or me baby."  
  
As he was right next to her neck for the private communication, he took a moment to inhale the warmth rising from Jake's skin. "Halleluljah." he muttered.  
  
Will was praising Hemingway.  
  
"Hemingway" Lena repeated witheringly. "He's so buried in performing male stereotypes. There's no directness, no honest emotion there."  
  
Huh. You fell for Jake, Will thought. "So" he challenged, "who do you suggest?"  
  
Hamilton watched them go into a one on one. Go Will, he thought. That girl loved to give her opinions. He pulled Jake closer and prayed that Will and Lena would make a connection. Then Jake could stop feeling responsible for Lena's unhappiness. It wasn't Jake's fault Lena had a crush on her. 


	2. 2

Part 4  
  
Scout, Ham and Will hooked up with Jake on Monday afternoon. She was sitting under their usual tree by the lake with a notebook in her lap. Her mouth was a straight line. Hamilton grabbed the book. "A sonnet?"  
  
"It's technically good. Without being actually good. I mean, it follows the technical rules for sonnets. While sucking badly."  
  
Hamilton tilted the book toward Will. "You're the poet."  
  
"It's, uh, kind of-"  
  
"Platitude enhanced?" Jake suggested. She leaned her head back against the trunk. "Yeah, like I'd say anything personal in class."  
  
"Well, you're a science geek" said Scout without malice. Jake shone in the IT classes; he knew her ego wasn't invested in getting an A from Finn. "Ham and I did quatrains. Way easier."  
  
"No I didn't. I did a haiku sequence."  
  
"Very minimalist" said Will.  
  
"Very cool" said Scout, rueful. He put his assignment back in his bag in case anyone saw it, then looked up, confused. "Ham, how come you're on time for class?"  
  
"I'm not always late."  
  
"Yes you are" said Will.  
  
"I was hoping to get a preview of Will's sonnet" he snarked.  
  
Will looked at him as if he were crazy, and shoved a paper at him. Will rarely registered sarcasm.  
  
"Hoping it's about a gorgeous redhead?" Scout asked.  
  
Will happened to catch Jake and Hamilton's expressions. Their faces looked ridiculously hopeful. He scowled thoughtfully. Now that he though about it, their behaviour at Saturday lunchtime had been even odder than usual. "Why are you guys pushing this?" He was mostly looking to Scout to answer. Scout prided himself on knowing everything that was going on in Rawley. Will prided himself on knowing everything Scout knew.  
  
Scout replied. "I checked out the grapevine on Sunday. Lena's got a crush on Ja- **OW**! **Pratt**!"  
  
Jake was furious with Hamilton. "I can't believe you'd tell anything private to Calhoun. You know what a big mouth he's got."  
  
'Simultaneously, Hamilton protested "I didn't say a thing-" while  
  
"Hey" Scout yelped almost drowning out  
  
"Lena's not chasing me" Jake said earnestly. "She's a very nice girl and if I wasn't also a very nice -"  
  
"nice? Debatable" muttered Scout rubbing his shin.  
  
"(Bite me.) Really Will. She's smart, and pretty. She's totally articulate and direct, she has a very forceful strong personality."  
  
"She has an obsessive personality, you mean. So, you want her to transfer her attentions to me." Will was losing his temper. He was not happy to be a receptacle of Jake's cast-offs.  
  
"She's not crazy. She's just moping a lot" said Hamilton, thinking, drama queen. Will and Scout were such suckers for over reacting to gossip. "I see her all the time out of the corner of my eye looking .. You know. Wistful."  
  
Jake flinched.  
  
He continued "- you remember we went out with the camera on Thursday? I didn't see her all afternoon, but when I developed the shots .."  
  
Will cut in as more of the class arrived. "Well. Thanks for the romantic assist. Now back the hell off."  
  
"Um, Will? English class."  
  
"What."  
  
"Co-ed." Scout nodded toward Lena. She was making a beeline for them.  
  
Finn saw it too, and gave Jake and Hamilton an overly sympathetic look. It never failed to set Hamilton's teeth on edge. "Lena? Can you sit up front? I'd like you to make your presentation today on the function of Paris, the society approved suitor, within the love story of Romeo and Juliet. The play's not called Paris and Juliet. Tell us why."  
  
"I preferred him oblivious" growled Hamilton.  
  
"Ham, he's a human restraining order" said Will. "Be grateful, and shut up."

* * *

Part 5  
  
Jake and Hamilton bickered mildly on the way to Jake's room after classes ended. "We don't have to stay in my dorm. It's still warm for September, so the lawn-"  
  
Hamilton interrupted. "You owe me a backrub since crew. This morning's practice was totally harsh, by the way."  
  
"And if you recall, breakfast was spent whining about that and I'm done with the subject. Do you need to set the alarm so you can be someplace?" Jake locked the door. She knew his timetable. His classes were over for today, but he might need to run the dogs or pick groceries up from town.  
  
He smirked. "Took the dogs out before crew."  
  
Big eyes from Jake. "Ooh, no wonder you're tired and need a nap - wait - stop that."  
  
"Backrub" he said insistently.  
  
"I think you have to let go of me first." This is where the shirt comes off, Jake thought happily. Right now my life is so good. She admired Hamilton as he lay on the bed.  
  
"This is great. You, me. A locked door." He sniffed. "Smelly oil?"  
  
"Sandalwood. Way manly." She dropped a quick kiss between his shoulderblades before starting the massage.  
  
"Poor Will."  
  
"Hm?" Where'd that thought come from, she wondered.  
  
"If we broke up, I don't think I'd be so cool." Then he confided, "Bella said I was kind of unbearable this summer before I went to see you in New York."  
  
Above him Jake's face lit up. Bella had told her all about incredible-mopey-Ham. In detail. With gestures. "I don't think Will's broken hearted, baby."  
  
"She was his girlfriend."  
  
"He barely knew her. He was so scared of disillusioning her, or showing himself up, or god knows what .. they only went on big elaborate formal dates. And he couldn't afford many of those. So. What: three, four dates? While they both balanced on pedestals. Ugh."  
  
"I thought you didn't like Caroline."  
  
"Still. I felt sorry for her. They never just hung out, ya know? Or got relaxed enough to say the first thing on their minds to each other. Or did stupid, boring, everyday stuff together. Or all afternoon watched his face learning to read it, wondering how his mind worked. What made him tick .." she was mumbling to herself.  
  
Hamilton rolled over with the world's smuggest smile on his face. This was the least oblique declaration he'd ever got from Jake. Strong emotion generally left her speechless. He didn't want to miss any part of this. "Is that how you were with me?"  
  
I'm just saying." Jake was embarrassed. "I probably read about that kind of sap in some story." She focussed her gaze on his collarbone.  
  
Hamilton, confident. "It's how you were with me; it's how we both were."  
  
"Yeah." After a moment she coaxed him down on his back to continue the massage. "If I ever think that was cute, I'll remind myself how painful it was, believing you didn't like me. Totally not cute."  
  
"I didn't think I ought to like you. Everything sucked."  
  
"You've tensed up again. What is it."  
  
Liking someone and not being with them-"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"That's where Lena is right now."  
  
Jake's hands paused. "Oh, Hamilton." _- He's sweet. I don't even think he likes Lena that much, he just hates watching Poppy and co. picking on her the way Ryder does on him. I'm trying to fix Lena and Will up so that she'll be otherwise occupied. My motive seems more selfish_. - "She's into Jake, the guy who doesn't exist. And if Jake the guy did exist, he'd be hopelessly pursuing the studly Munchie."  
  
Hamilton pulled her down on top of him. "Not hopelessly."

* * *

Part 6  
  
It was going to be another typical Tuesday shift at Friendly's and Will Krudsky was annoyed. First off, he was starting the shift alone, mopping the floor while Scout "just ran across" to the garage to "say hi" to Bella. Will knew that was going to take at least forty minutes. They were supposed to be serving food by then.  
  
"I think I preferred them doomed and thwarted."  
  
No, he didn't mean that.  
  
The second thing, he'd been dumped. All through their time together, he'd expected Caroline to realise he wasn't what she wanted. When the hour came it was kind of a relief; at least he didn't have to worry anymore. Also, her rejection was far less stinging than the speeches he had written in his head for her. English was her weak subject, he remembered. He shook his head. Caroline simply wasn't that eloquent. It was always the way she said things, or the way she looked as she spoke, that caught him.  
  
My princess, was how he thought of her. He was as much attracted by the world she represented as by her. It had been an exciting strain; trying to keep up with all the people, places, even popculture references outside his experience. "You're more into my lifestyle than into me" she'd said the last time they met.  
  
She didn't understand.  
  
Her background was part of her. And yes, that aloof, mysterious style was what interested Will. "I find elitism sexy" Will said aloud to himself. "So sue me." He laughed. As he spoke he was hurling a bucket of greasy suds out the back fire exit of friendly's. His next job was to scour baked-on crud off the cooker. Ger had had last night's shift and he'd done his usual inadequate job of clearing up. It seemed funny to be thinking about the nature of glamor here.  
  
The thump of footsteps announced Scout who came flying round the corner of the building. "Sorry, sorry" he gasped. "We got talking."  
  
Will tilted his head to one side and raised his eyebrows.  
  
"True. We were talking about that girl we just met. Lena."  
  
"I haven't got to the grill yet. Can you scrape the carbonised gunk off it?"  
  
Scout frowned at the non sequitur. The frown deepened when he saw the surfaces he had to tackle. "Oh, man."  
  
Will, halfway into the freezer, smiled peacefully.  
  
Bella, when she stopped by during a quiet hour, was less easy to deflect. "Will! I haven't seen you for a while." Being able to be with Scout was so new it felt like a sacrifice to make time for anyone else.  
  
"Last Saturday. We had lunch."  
  
"Oh. Yeah. Jake brought that new girl Lena-" Will sighed. "-did you like her? Scout and I liked her."  
  
"She was here for summer session. I never really noticed her before Saturday. But, here's a thought, I've since found out that she's famous all round Rawley. Even Finn's noticed, and he still thinks Jake's a guy."  
  
"Famous?" Bella was all surprised.  
  
"She's stalking Jake."  
  
"You're kidding." It wasn't unknown for Will and Scout to get the wrong end of the stick.  
  
Will folded his arms high up on his chest in a marked manner. "Scout didn't share this?"  
  
"We, um, didn't talk about it that long."  
  
"Went preverbal?"  
  
Bella glared, and he was glad to be safe behind the counter. "I'd say it to Scout" he defended.  
  
"That's what pissing me off."  
  
"Look, about you and Scout, it's good that you're together. Scout's so happy. He loves you. I don't see much of you now term's started, but .. you're good. Right?"  
  
Bella smiled at him. "Silver tongued Krudsky."  
  
He unfolded his arms. "You matter to me a lot Bell. You know that?"  
  
Bella touched the back of his hand lightly. "Where are you going with this?"  
  
"Just to say, I'm happy for you. And for Jake and Ham. But, I don't need matchmaking. And it wasn't the best thing for Lena. I'm not boyfriend material. I've been thinking this. I didn't give enough time or energy to Caroline. I have to keep my grades up now. So, even if I'd wanted Lena -"  
  
Scout jumped into the conversation. "Or if she'd wanted you. Jake was selling you pretty hard on Saturday. Without success." He had been eavesdropping shamelessly. "What sort of girl would you go for?" It occurred to Scout that Jake and Bella had mostly been interested in finding a girl they would enjoy hanging with. Those two never really got Caroline. What did Will want?  
  
"Uh. Someone beautiful. Elegant. Sophisticated. Myst-"  
  
Exchanging a smirk with Bella, Scout cut in. "We are talking about a sixteen year old, right? 'Cause I'm thinking Catherine Deneuve, here."  
  
Blushing angrily, Will repeated that he wasn't in the market for a relationship.  
  
Beautiful" Scout muttered. "At least he's ruled out Finn."

* * *

Part 7  
  
Jake and Hamilton were hunched over the counter of Friendly's talking idly. Scout and Will had Wednesday evenings off, and most of the tables were occupied by kids from Edmund High, so they got to be alone in the crowd for a while. "Oh look" said Hamilton dryly. "I can see Lena over your shoulder. That's new."  
  
A minute later Lena was saying "It's a small town."  
  
"I've got to pee." Jake bolted.  
  
"Lena" said Hamilton, making a note to get creatively even with Jake later. "Will's told us we owe you an apology. Uh, actually he demanded we apologize to him."  
  
"For what?" Lena was in the dark.  
  
"You never noticed?" Pause. "Uh, forget I said anything."  
  
"For what?"  
  
Hamilton sighed deeply and fidgeted. "Man."  
  
"You said you owed me, after the cotillion."  
  
"Look, there's a free booth." _I'm going to get Jake for this_, he thought. _I mean, I'm in touch with my emotions and stuff -  
_  
"Hamilton."  
  
He was thinking -_ but that doesn't mean that it's fair for every chick to take advantage of me _-  
  
"Hey!" Lena was going.  
  
- _and the cotillion reference! That's blackmail. That's ..where's my coke gone? _-  
  
"Oh good. You're focusing again." Lena let him have his tray back. "I haven't seen you in this state since the cotillion." Hamilton smouldered at the reference, and not in a good way.  
  
"You haven't seen much of me since then. Except, oh yeah, in the distance."  
  
"You've been busy." Jake and Hamilton didn't owe her anything. If they acted like her happiness was their responsibility, she was prepared to take offence.  
  
"You haven't. Been busy," he said flatly. All those times, he'd seen her lonely on campus.  
  
They certainly didn't owe her pity. "It's not a big deal. I haven't blended in too well at Rawley Girls. I'm not crazy-gregarious to start with." Damn. I'm working up to the phrase, I've got Inner Resources, she thought.  
  
At the sound of footsteps, she looked up, hoping for Jake. This conversation was making her feel like a loser. No. It wasn't Jake. Some blond guy she didn't know was inviting another table to a party on Friday night. Some townie. She wondered if by any remote chance he hadn't heard the hilarious story about her falling for a gay boy and the even more hilarious assumption that she wasn't over him. An assumption that was deleting her from the "eligible" category of any other guy at Rawley. Poppy & co were so amusing about it that it would be a pity for anyone to miss the joke. She tried to think of a way of proving her over-Jakeness single handedly. Without the benefit of any other social contact - she winced. An ad in the local paper?  
  
Hamilton tried again. "You don't have to tell me about the princesses. I grew up here." He'd lost her around the point where he indicated she was a social black hole. She was completely tense and miserable now, and trying to hide it. How had he got to this place? "You probably agree with Will."  
  
"What about?"  
  
"He says we're manipulative, uh, mean minded, intrusive ..insolent ..arrogant, and, yeah, bizarre."  
  
"He has a way with words" Jake concurred, sliding in beside Hamilton. "This is from the great How Dare You Run My Life diatribe, right? I swear, I am never gonna match make again in my life."  
  
"Good call" grunted Hamilton. "It's not like you take it too well when my parents try to fix me up."  
  
A horrible suspicion dawned on Lena. "What does this have to do with me?"  
  
Jake's head jerked round. "Oh. God. You didn't tell her."  
  
Hamilton gave Jake a significant look. "Two words. Swiss. Vault."  
  
Jake grabbed Lena's wrist as she lunged to get up. "Lena. Listen. This isn't about you, it's about us."  
  
Standing over their table with every intention of running once Jake let go of her, Lena looked confused. "It's about you and Ham? How egocentric are you Jake?" Stabbing the forefinger of her free hand at Jake, Lena hissed, "I am So Much more Over you than you fondly assume."  
  
"Neither of us thinks you're still into Jake." Hamilton broke in on her words, gambling that Lena couldn't catch him in a lie the way his mom and Jake always could. "He means it's about the five of us. Basically, Jake and Bella told Will his taste in girls sucked, and they were picking you out -"  
  
"-as the best person we could possibly hope for" Jake butted in. Picking you out was not a phrase she thought would play well, any more than it would have with her. But then, that was part of why she liked Lena.  
  
"Cute." Lena was scarlet faced with rage.  
  
Hamilton peered at her. "You're being sarcastic."  
  
"Have I at any point indicated I wanted your stupid, stupid invasions into my private -"  
  
"Bella likes you. Scout likes you. We like you. It would be cool to waste free afternoons doing stuff. I mean, Will enjoyed your company right up till he felt shoved around."  
  
"Will just broke up with Caroline Buss" Hamilton explained. "He says he'll never date again."  
  
"Just as long as he never dates her again" said Jake.  
  
"She's not the worst" Lena's anger was faltering. Maybe she wasn't the pity victim.  
  
"She's boring" said Jake. "She plays daters' head games. She memorised "The Rules" (ick). Bella never liked her."  
  
"Bella's nice." Lena raised her head. "I guess she must be wanting some oestrogen in the mix with all you guys."  
  
Hamilton checked Jake's reaction to that one. Suck it up boy.  
  
"Scout was the one who kept reminding us all you hadn't shown the slightest interest in Will" was all she said.  
  
Lena started to look a bit less like punching one of them or crying. Hamilton, interested, wondered if Jake could rehabilitate him and herself next. He also wondered how. She didn't try. "Sean" she yelled. She hadn't seen him since the hitchhike to Carson.  
  
"Jake." He came up to their booth and started laughing. Hamilton realised he hadn't seen Jake in boy gear before.  
  
"Don't start" she grinned. "How is everything? This is Lena by the way."  
  
"Hi Lena." Lena saw it was the blond guy in tight jeans she'd noticed earlier. "Ham."  
  
"Hey. I haven't been able to get down for basketball since term started."  
  
"That's okay. It was pretty informal. I don't want to lose touch though. Can you get away Friday night? There's a party, my place. Um, you too, Lena. I mean, any friend of Jake and Ham's .. Can you ask Will? And Bella and Scout?"  
  
Hamilton asked "Bella and Scout?"  
  
"No hard feelings man. Bella's my friend. I don't want to lose that."  
  
Jake smiled at him. "You're a good guy Sean."  
  
He took another look at her before he left. "So are you." He laughed some more. "See you Friday, guys, Lena."  
  
"He's cute" said Lena, carefully neutral.  
  
Hamilton quirked an eyebrow. "I could put in a good word ..Uh. Or not if you'd prefer. Okay, that would be not."  
  
END 


End file.
